So I Go Overboard

How early do you start shopping/decorating for the holidays?

I’ll begin by saying that the upcoming holidays are my favorite time of year. I think maybe that started when I was just a child. My mother made everything special for us even though we didn’t get an over the top amount of presents. Being with our large, extended family was the best gift we received.

When I was a child I never understood why we had to go to school on Halloween. It was so much fun I couldn’t imagine not having a vacation day for it. We never decorated for Halloween, and I still don’t.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. I have a nice cornucopia that I put on my table, and a couple of Pilgrims and an Indian, and that’s all the decorating I do for that. I’m not much of an advance food shopper. Typically you’ll find me in the grocery store at the last minute trying to find the perfect turkey. For my family that would be about ten pounds, but the year before last I sent my husband to the store, and he came back with a twenty pound bird. I didn’t do too good of a job cooking such a big turkey so since then I buy my turkey ready to eat.

The Christmas season begins for us on the day after Thanksgiving. I never go to sales on Black Friday. We put up all our decorations. And there are a lot of them. I started the tradition of heavily decorating when my grandson lived with me. I wanted him to have a magical Christmas environment, and he did appreciate everything. His favorite was a Christmas village I put up every year. Actually, every child in the family loved that village, and my great granddaughter is very attracted to it now.

I usually put up three Christmas trees. One is our family tree, one is silver with some white, flocked deer under it, and the other is a theme tree. I started the doing the themed tree when my granddaughter was younger. The two of us got together and put it up from start to finish. All year we’d look for ornaments for whatever theme we’d picked. We’ve done cowboys and Indians, polka dots, candy, birds, retro, shells, pigs, and various color combos. Her favorite is the candy tree, and I have to admit it’s the most beautiful, but I do like my cowboys and Indians tree.

Besides our trees I sit things wherever I can find a place. I’ve also made several wreaths to go on the walls.

With all of that being said, this year I may cut back some. But then again I still have that great granddaughter to think of so we’ll see.

I used to shop early for gifts, but in recent years I’ve fallen out of the habit. Everyone gives me a list of things they might enjoy, and I pick from the list. No one yet has complained or returned any of their gifts.

Still, the decorating, presents, and eating isn’t the important part of the holidays. The important part is being with the people you love. That’s the best part as far as I’m concerned.

Do any of you have any special traditions during the holidays? Do share them with us.

The picture shows three carolers. It sits on the top of a small china cabinet in my dining room. The picture behind it is a Norman Rockwell Christmas picture. There’s a car going down the street with a tree on the top. I love that touch.